


The Moon Is The Only Light

by seraphina_snape



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Original Character Death(s), undefined relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 09:05:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7502403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>He gets the call three hours before the game starts. They're in New Jersey to beat the Tigers into the ground and he's wolfing down a sandwich at a street corner not too far from the rink. A good BLT is part of his pre-game ritual and this is a very good one. </i><br/> <br/>(In which Dex' father dies.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moon Is The Only Light

**Author's Note:**

> • Written for the omgcp-tropechallenge (prompt: hurt/comfort).  
> • I was listening to sad music while writing this (for obvious reasons) and Stand By Me was on when it came to picking a title.  
> • Set in January 2018, in Dex and Nursey's (and Chowder's) senior year at Samwell.  
> • This is like 4000 words hurt/hurt/morehurt and maybe 1000 words comfort. Sorry.  
> • Deals with the death of a parent, so if this is painful/uncomfortable for you, this is not the story for you.  
> • Also features a scene where life support is switched off, so if you wanna avoid that, skip from the bit where Dex is in his dad's room to the next #.  
> • ...and now it feels wrong to tell you to enjoy the story.

He gets the call three hours before the game starts. They're in New Jersey to beat the Tigers into the ground and he's wolfing down a sandwich at a street corner not too far from the rink. A good BLT is part of his pre-game ritual and this is a very good one. 

Dex hates being interrupted when he's eating, not just when it's his pre-game BLT but in general. But "MOM" is flashing on his screen in big letters when he shifts his sandwich and takes out his cell phone, so he answer it, still chewing. 

"Hey, Mom, what's up?"

"Will? It's Katie." 

Dex swallows his bite and frowns. Katie sounds upset. "What's wrong?"

Katie makes a choked-off noise that sounds like a sob. "It's Dad."

Dex straightens up, the BLT forgotten. "What happened? Where's Mom?"

"She's at the hospital with Dad. She called me an hour ago because she had to go and couldn't leave the girls." Katie draws in a shaky breath. "There was an accident at the mill." 

"Did Mom say anything else?"

"No. She just called me and said there had been an accident and that she needed me to come and keep an eye on the kids. And then she said she had to get to the hospital and hung up. Mols was keeping an eye on everything when I got here, but nobody knows anything. She said Mom got the call and went all quiet. And then she called me and told Mols to wait for me. I know you have a game today, Will, and I'm sorry I called, but Mom left her cell phone here and I don't know if she--" 

"No, Katie, I'm glad you called. I can--" 

But he can't. He doesn't have the money to book a flight to Maine, or to rent a car and drive. He has a game and his scholarship is riding on him being on the Samwell hockey team. Just leaving is not an option. 

"I'll talk to the coaches after the game and then come up to help out."

"No, it's fine. I can handle it. I just got a little--" She sniffs. "What if Dad--"

"Shh, it's okay. We don't know what happened. We don't know how bad it is. Mom's gonna call you as soon as she knows something, okay? Don't start thinking the worst, Katie."

"I know, but it's so hard. Maggie is confused, but Betty and Bonnie are anxious and upset and it's making Maggie upset and Mols hasn't come out of her room at all since I got here. " She takes a deep breath. "No, you're right. I can do this. I'm crying into the mac and cheese, but I can do it."

"Everyone loves mac and cheese; I'm sure it'll help settle the girls and get Mols out of her room." His eye goes to the digital watch mounted outside the jewelry shop a few houses down. He needs to get back to the rink and meet the guys. "Look, I'll see what I can do, but hopefully I'll be there tomorrow morning, okay?"

"No, Will, you have hockey and school and--"

"You have school, too, Katie."

Katie scoffs. "Community college isn't the same as an ivy league school, Will."

"Your education is just as important as mine. Don't even argue with me. Now, I'm going to play this game, talk to the coaches and come home to help you out. Call me or text me if you have any news, okay?"

"Okay." Katie sighs. "Thanks, Big Bro."

They hang up and Dex pockets his phone, heading towards the rink at a brisk pace. Maybe he can catch one of the coaches before the game. That way he could take a train right after the game and be home by mid-morning if he was lucky.

#

That night Dex plays one of the most aggressive games of hockey he's ever played, his thoughts circling around his dad. It bothers him that he has no concrete information. An accident at the mill can be anything from missing fingers to broken legs to being run over by a truck. Bobby Gatley's dad got caught in the fan belt of one of the big machines when they were in eighth grade and had his arm ripped clean off. Mel Saunders' dad got run over by a fork lift and died when they were in tenth grade. A couple of missing fingers aren't enough to send his mom rushing to the hospital – his dad is already missing the tip of two of his fingers – so it has to be something bigger. 

Not knowing is driving Dex a little crazy, and he takes his frustration out on the opposing team. He doesn't play dirty, but he checks a little harder than necessary and takes offense a little quicker than usual. 

Nursey keeps shooting him looks that turn Dex' stomach, like he's going to ask what's wrong. It's not like Dex has anything he could say to that because he doesn't _know_ anything. 

"Poindexter!" 

Coach Hall stands at the boards, giving him a pointed look. 

_Get your head back in the game,_ it says. _I understand, but you said you could play, so damn well play._

Dex takes a deep breath and grips his stick tighter. Chowder is keeping his shutout record going for at least one more game, if he has anything to say about it.

#

After the game, Dex showers in record time, pulling on his clothes while most of the guys are still walking around in towels. The atmosphere is loud and boisterous after their win, and Chowder is recounting his spectacular save from the last minute of the game in great detail. The new frogs are hanging on his every word and Skinny, Samwell's goalie prospect for next year, looks like he wants to take notes.

"What is it with you today?"

Dex glances up at Nursey and shrugs. Nursey is fresh from a shower, his wet hair dripping water over his shoulders. A few drops are running down his neck and chest, and Dex wants nothing more than to drag Nursey into a quiet corner and lick them off. 

Or maybe he just wants a hug. 

But it's not like that between them. Half the time they still argue like cats and dogs, at each other's throats for no reason and every reason. Their relationship feels solid and precarious at the same time. Dex knows Nursey wouldn't hesitate to back him up on the ice, or against the lax bros, or even to defend his study cubicle at the library from overeager freshman trying to study 24/7 in the face of the first finals of their college career. It's all the mushy stuff that's up in the air. Like how he wants Nursey's company when he's having a bad day, but it feels like they can't hang out without having a 'real' reason to spend time together. Sometimes Dex just wants a hug, but he doesn't know how to ask for one without making it weird. 

He's not even sure if they have a relationship or if it's more of a friends/teammates with benefits thing. It's not Nursey's fault that Dex can't figure it out. They're both bad at feelings. Nursey pretends nothing can touch him, and Dex pretends he doesn't care one way or another and that's making it hard to have a conversation about it. Plus, Dex hates having to talk about his feelings. 

"Okay then," Nursey says, turning away to fish his clothes out of his bag. The tense set of his shoulders tells Dex that he's angry, probably because he can tell that something is wrong and yet Dex is keeping quiet. 

Dex sighs. He doesn't even _know_ anything. How can he tell Nursey what's up if he has no clue? 

He leaves the locker room without another word.

#

Katie ends up having to pick him up from the train station. It's an hour and a half drive, and Katie looks absolutely frazzled when she pulls up at the supermarket parking lot near the train station where Dex said he would meet them. 

He offers to switch because Katie hates driving and she gratefully accepts. They are standing outside the car when Dex gets his first good look at Katie's face. His stomach drops.

"What?"

"Mom called earlier this morning with an update," she says, biting her lip. From the rawness of her lip, it's not the first time. "It's not good news."

"Hey, shhhh." 

Katie buries her face in his chest and he can feel her shoulder shake a little before she calms down and pulls away. 

"Mom wants us to stop by the hospital. It's--" She shakes her head, like she's fighting the words. "One of those giant paper rolls wasn't secured and it fell down a ramp and crushed dad against a wall. He's in a coma and they don't think--" She bites her lip again. "The little ones don't know yet, but I told Mols. She's not handling it well."

The drive to the hospital takes them a little over an hour. Maggie and Betty fight over who gets to tell Dex all the interesting stories until Katie snaps at them and tells them they can tell him one story each. Dex only listens with half an ear, the words _crushed_ and _coma_ echoing in his head. 

Katie corrals the girls into a waiting room when they finally get to the hospital, helplessly staring at Mols when she sits down with her arms crossed and her hair in front of her face, not speaking to anyone. When Dex tries to hug her, she slaps his arms away. The little ones – although Bonnie isn't so little anymore at almost 12 – are more than happy to hug him, and Maggie gets a little teary when he hands her over to Katie.

"I'm going to find Mom." 

Katie nods and pulls a handful of coloring books and a box of crayons out of her oversized purse. Dex leaves them to it and heads up to the third floor where the intensive care unit is. 

His mom is standing outside the elevator when the doors open on the third floor. She looks horrible – the dark circles under her eyes and her unwashed hair make her look at least fifteen years older than she is. Her eyes are red and teary and Dex feels the last of his hope die. 

His mom is almost a foot shorter than him, and like Katie she hider her face in his chest and hugs him back like she doesn't want to let him go.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you honey, but I left my cell phone at home and I couldn't remember your new number. But Katie said she'd called you and that you were coming."

"It's okay," Dex says. Emergency situations fuck with your head, Dex knows that all too well. He'd had emergency surgery for his appendix in his junior year and completely forgot to call his parents until three days later when Bitty had asked if they'd be visiting. 

His mom runs a hand through her hair. "Your dad--there was an accident. At the mill."

Dex nods. "Katie told me. She said he's in a coma."

His mom nods, silent tears falling from her eyes. "He's--the doctors say there isn't any brain function."

#

His dad's face looks pretty normal. He's pale and has a huge bruise covering half of his face, but he simply looks like he's asleep. Dex isn't sure what he had expected, but it hadn't been his normal face. 

The rest of him is hidden beneath thick blankets that a nurse brought in half an hour ago, before all the girls had come in here to say goodbye. Maggie was too young to know what was going on, but Betty was just old enough to know what death meant. Not old enough to fully understand it, maybe, but enough to know Dad wasn't coming home.

The door to the room opens and Katie and his mom step in, followed by the doctor and a nurse. 

"Mrs. Poindexter," the doctor starts, and Dex zones out a little. The man is professional and sympathetic, but doesn't feed them empty platitudes or false hope. His mom signs the release form and the doctor steps over to the bed.

Dex watches as he systematically switches off the machines surrounding his dad's bed. His mom's hand finds his and squeezes hard enough that Dex thinks she might break something, but he doesn't pull away. On his mom's other side, Katie is crying softly.

His dad's chest rises, the doctor shuts off the last machine, his dad's chest falls – and stays down.

"I'm sorry for your loss." 

Dex nods at the doctor and blinks away the tears lurking in the corners of his eyes. His mom and Katie are holding on to each other and crying – the last thing anyone needs is for him to fall apart, too. 

"Is there anything else we need to sign or do? I mean, right now?"

The doctor shakes his head. "When you've made arrangements with a funeral home, they should handle all of the details."

They shake hands and then Dex ushers his mom and Katie out of the room. He finds the nurse that's keeping an eye on the girls and gets everyone into their old van, his mom in the passenger seat and Katie in the back with Maggie on her lap. 

For the first time in his life, coming home doesn't feel like coming home.

#

That evening, after he and Katie made pizza for everyone and then sent the little ones up to bed, Dex sits down with his laptop and emails all of his professors again. At this point he doesn't care if they have a problem with him missing a lecture – he's not missing his dad's funeral for a programming seminar.

There are fourteen text messages and at least that many missed calls from Nursey, but Dex has no idea what to say to him. He doesn't know if the words "my dad's dead" would actually come out or if they'd get stuck in his throat. Ultimately he sends Nursey a "can't right now; I'll be back next week" because it's not like he can ask Nursey to come all the way up to Maine just because Dex feels like crying. 

He leaves his phone plugged in and charging up and goes downstairs. Katie is sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the TV. Lilo & Stitch is playing and Dex assumes the DVD started up again after being left in the player for too long.

Katie leans against him when he sits down, and he puts his arm around her. Slowly, a wet patch starts spreading on his shirt where Katie is crying into his shoulder. 

"Did you email your professors?"

Katie startles. "Shit! I didn't even tell most of them I'd be gone. Damn it all to hell!"

"You can use my laptop. It's in my room."

Katie heads upstairs and Dex tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling. The last time he'd been here had been barely four weeks ago, for Christmas. There's a dark patch where some water came through from the upstairs bathroom a few years ago. It dried up, but there's never been any extra cash to fix the ceiling on top of fixing the leaking tub, so they've just left it. It had been hidden by decorations over Christmas, but now it's visible again, blotchy and ugly. That train of thought leads Dex to the dark and depressing reality. Without his dad, money is going to be even tighter than before. 

"Hey."

Dex startles.

"Sorry." Katie sits back down and hands him his cell phone. "Somebody keeps texting you. Is this D. Nurse your girlfriend?"

"No. He's my – teammate."

"Oh."

The tone makes Dex look up. "That's your guilty face." Dex narrows his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Your phone was unlocked and I was curious and I might have, accidentally, read a few of your texts?"

Dex takes in a deep breath, remembering all the filthy stuff Nursey liked to text him when he was in class, claiming it was foreplay just as much as anything else. He wants to cry now more than ever, but instead he starts laughing. 

Katie stares at him for a moment and then hits his arm. "Why didn't you tell me you're gay? Billy Cranton had a crush on you all through high school; he was devastated when you started dating Jennifer."

Dex feels his laughter topple over into hysteria until he's just gasping and chuckling weakly. "Billy Cranton was my first kiss. Spin the bottle in seventh grade. But he's not my type. And I'm bi, not gay."

"You could have told me."

Dex sighs. "I shouldn't have to tell anyone."

"Why? Are you ashamed?"

"No, but… it's like this: if I show up with a girl, nobody even cares. If I show up with a boy, everyone freaks out. I know it's not realistic, but I want to live in a world where a boy can be my date and nobody fucking cares."

"Well, I don't care. And I'm sure that—wait a second. Do Mom and Da--" Katie's face falls. "Does Mom know?"

Dex nods. "Remember that time I was out past curfew and had triple chores for a month? I was out with – someone – that night and didn't realize Mom was waiting up. She saw us kissing."

"Someone?"

"I--He's not out, Katie, and I don't know if he wants to be."

"Sorry." She leans against him again. "So. Tell me about this D. Nurse. What's he like?"

#

Dex doesn't sleep well. It actually helped a little to talk about Nursey to someone who doesn't know him - there was no need to censor himself like he does when he's talking to his teammates about Nursey - but as soon as he is alone in his bed with the darkness pressing in from all sides, his calmness evaporates and his mind just won't quit. He's got five more months until he graduates - that's five months his mom will have to manage by herself. Katie lives a lot closer and could drop in more to help out, but she has school as well. As far as he knows his parents don't have many savings or emergency funds, and no bank will grant his mom a loan, not with her meager income from the part-time job at the bad diner in town.

When the clock over the door shows barely five o'clock, Dex hears someone in the kitchen downstairs, so he sits up and pulls on a t-shirt. 

His mom is sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. On the stove is a pan full of bacon and eggs, but the heat isn't on.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

His mom jumps and wipes her hands across her eyes. "Sure, baby. I'm fine."

"Uh-huh." Dex turns his back on her and switches on the stove. For as long as Dex can remember, his mom had gotten up with his dad and prepared breakfast for the two of them while he showered and got ready for work. From the looks of it, she woke up and found herself at the stove before she remembered his dad isn't going in to work today.

They eat in silence, his mom picking at the food more than she is eating it.

"I called the school," his mom finally says. "That is, I called Beryl last night when I got home. I told her the girls would be staying home today and tomorrow."

Dex nods. Cousin Beryl worked for the local elementary cum middle school. "We should make a plan."

"A plan?"

Dex nods again. "Talking to the people at the mill, making funeral arrangements, letting everyone know, making sure the girls have something to wear at the funeral. Making sure you receive benefits, which means we need to call up… I don't know. Whoever is responsible for that."

"You're right." His mom sits up, suddenly more alert now that she has a short-term purpose. Her voice still shakes, but it's a little stronger. "I need to call a lawyer, too. Your dad and I don't have a last will, but now that it's just me, I need to make sure it's all set in stone." 

"Maybe I can graduate early or drop out--"

His mom's head snaps up. "Don't you dare! You're in your last year at Samwell and you will finish that degree with honors, you hear me?"

"Mom."

"No, Will."

Dex stops arguing, but the math is simple. Without his dad's income, his mom will have a fraction of the money. Either she'll have to find good paying full-time work (in this town, in this economy? And then what will she do with Maggie and Betty? Bonnie and Molly are old enough to stay home alone and Molly is old enough to watch the rest, but it's not a perfect solution), or somebody else will have to chip in. He's the logical choice. Even without a degree, he can find work in construction or a factory or even the local mill. 

It was a bleak future, but a likely one. After being accepted at Samwell and winning the scholarship, Dex had started dreaming bigger. But he'll gladly shelve his dreams if it means his mom has enough money to raise all of her children.

The phone ringing startles both of them, and Dex shoots a quick look at the digital clock on the stove. 6:04 am. Not exactly calling hours. 

His mom picks up the phone and listens for a moment. 

"Oh no, don't worry about that, Rick. I couldn't sleep anyways."

Dex unsubtly walks over and leans in, trying to listen in on the call. Rick had been his dad's supervisor at work. 

"—know it's probably the last thing on your mind right now, but you need to think of the future, Sharon." Rick's voice is faint across the distance, but luckily for Dex Rick is a loud man. His mom barely glares at him when he leans in a little closer. "You have four kids at home and two in college," Rick continues. "And this was a work accident. You're entitled to compensation."

His mom opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, so Dex grabs the receiver. "Rick?"

"Is that you, Will?"

"Yeah. I couldn't leave Mom and Katie to deal with everything."

"Good man," Rick says. "Is your mom okay?"

"As okay as she can be." 

"Look, I know it's not easy for you right now, but I just told your mom to find a lawyer and ask about compensation. Your dad was a good friend, and this stupid accident shouldn't have taken him from you."

"A lawyer, you say?"

"At the very least they should cover the hospital bills and the funeral, considering it was a work accident. I'm not a lawyer, but I know that Dixon Saunders' wife got something extra besides her pension because she showed up at the office with a lawyer in tow, shouting about law suits."

"Thanks, Rick."

"Sure, son. Just let me or Lucille know if you need anything. And if your mom has to make arrangements, Lucille says she can watch the girls for a bit."

Dex swallows past the lump in his throat and thanks Rick before he hangs up. His dad is never going to call him _son_ again. He's never going to see most of his kids off to prom. He's not going to teach them how to drive and he's not going to be there when they get married. Dex sits down heavily. He doesn't even know if his dad knew about him. His mom had hugged him and told him she loved him, and then she'd sent him upstairs with the promise of punishment for breaking his curfew. But neither of his parents had mentioned it to him since then. 

"Hey, Mom?"

His mom looks up and Dex finds he can't meet her eyes, suddenly guilty that whatever Nursey is to him, he's at least still alive. 

"So, about that lawyer?"

#

While Katie watches the girls, Dex and his mom find a lawyer. Their reason for picking him is based on online reviews, but neither of them feel like they have time to be more choosy. He seems competent and sincere, and his fee doesn't go above what Google tells Dex is appropriate for the area and type of service. He promises to contact the mill and keep them updated on his progress. 

"Funeral home?" Dex asks when they're back in the car.

His mom nods and Dex wishes he could spare her this. She looks so tired and sad that it hurts to look at her. A glimpse of his eyes in the rearview mirror show that he's not looking much better himself. Dex ignores it and points the car back home when his mom tells him the name of the local funeral home.

The arrangements are quickly made, but it's still well after lunch when everything is finally in order. Dex is quietly relieved to be heading home. He'd held on to his control so far, mostly keeping it together so his mom didn't have to, but it takes a lot of effort to keep his face blank. Inside he feels brittle, like one wrong word or one wrong touch could shatter him.

An unfamiliar car sits in the driveway when Dex pulls in. Dex figures it's one of his parents' friends, or maybe a work colleague of his dad's, but when he follows his mom into the living room, Nursey is sitting on the sofa, surrounded by his sisters.

"Nursey! What are you--"

"Coach Hall told us." He gives Dex a look that's part sympathy and part rebuke and then stands up, holding his hand out towards Dex' mom. "Mrs. Poindexter, you have my deepest condolences."

"Thank you, um…"

"Derek. Derek Nurse. I play hockey with your son." 

His mom shoots Dex a sideways glance and he feels himself blush, heat crawling up his neck and into his cheeks. 

"It's nice to meet you, Derek. You'll stay for dinner, won't you?" She doesn't wait for Nursey's answer, instead turning to the sofa. "Girls, Dex and I brought your homework for the day. How about we all get a head start on that?"

Dex' sisters all file out of the room under protesting moans and Katie gives him a half-hug when she passes him. "Want me to tell Mom about him?"

Dex is sure his mom has already guessed, but he nods anyway. It'll be one less thing to worry about if she knows, and he feels oddly glad he won't be the one to tell her when she's already got so much on her plate.

Then Dex and Nursey are alone in the living room, and Dex is too tired to feel ashamed of the sagging couch and the water damage on the ceiling and the old-as-balls TV. None of the scenarios in which he'd pictured Nursey in his childhood home had ever started with his dad dying. 

And suddenly there's a lump in Dex' throat and tears spring up in his eyes. Before he can try and say anything, Nursey is right there, wrapping his arms around Dex. "I'm so sorry," he whispers into Dex' ear. "I can't even imagine--I'm sorry, Dex."

It breaks the last of Dex' defenses. Hot tears spill from his eyes and are soaked up by Nursey's sweater. He's pretty sure that Nursey is holding him upright because it feels like his legs have been cut off at the knees. All he can do is hold on, so he curls his fingers into the soft fabric of Nursey's sweater and tries to focus on the feeling of Nursey's hands on his back, one of which is holding him tight while the other rubs comforting circles over his back.

Dex isn't sure how long he stands there with his head on Nursey's shoulder, safe in Nursey's embrace, but it's long enough that his neck twinges when he finally pulls back a little and raises his head. 

"Hey," Nursey says, quietly. "Better?"

"A little." Dex wants to wipe his face, but he doesn't want to let go of Nursey in case he disappears.

"Here." Nursey hands him a handkerchief. 

Dex stares for a moment because who even carries a handkerchief in 2018 anymore? The handkerchief is brown with decorative stitching in gold thread and Nursey's initials in one corner, and it feels extremely soft when Dex reaches out and takes it. He almost doesn't want to wipe his face with it because then he'll have to throw it in the wash and the spin cycle might just destroy it. But Nursey doesn't look like he cares about the handkerchief, so Dex wipes off the tears and snot and stuffs the handkerchief into his pocket.

"I'll wash it," he assures Nursey. "Sorry about--" Dex breaks off and makes a helpless gesture that could mean anything from 'sorry for crying all over you' to 'sorry you have to be in this living room where the couch cost as much as your shirt'.

"Whatever, I have others." Nursey shrugs, but then turns serious, meeting Dex eyes. "You know you don't have to hide from me, right? You could have told me about what happened. I could have… I don't know. Been here for you."

"You're here now," Dex mumbles. "Thank you." And to his eternal shame, he can feel fresh tears welling up.

"Shh," Nursey says. He cups Dex' face in his hands and gently tugs him forward, placing a kiss on his forehead, then his nose and both eyelids. 

Dex calms down a little, anticipating the kisses to each of his cheeks and then his lips. He makes a small noise of approval and want when Nursey brushes his lips against Dex'. Nursey lets the kiss linger, driving Dex crazy with soft, gentle pressure before he finally opens his mouth a little and deepens the kiss.

Dex gasps and meets Nursey's tongue halfway, his hands gripping Nursey's hips tight enough that he'll find bruises there later. But instead of a frantic, desperation-filled kiss, Dex gets a slow, deep one. Nursey's thumbs lightly stroke Dex' cheeks, and his tongue moves with a matching slowness, forcing Dex to slow down as well. It's frustrating at first - something inside Dex urges him to _go go go_ , to make every second count and to make it count _now_ , but Nursey doesn't let him hurry through the kiss. He sticks to the same slow rhythm until Dex' tongue stops fighting him and starts moving with his instead.

When they finally break apart, their foreheads touching, they're both breathing hard. 

Nursey smiles, his hands slowly sliding down Dex' neck and coming to rest on his chest, right over his heart. "You know I--" Nursey cuts himself off and clears his throat. "I mean I, uh--"

Dex gives him a questioning look. 

"Oh, fuck it." Nursey takes a deep breath and then says, in a rush, "I'm in love with you, William Poindexter. I figured you should know that."

Dex blinks at him, feeling his heart flutter a little. "I'm in love with you, Derek Nurse." He digs his fingers into Nursey's hips and drops a quick kiss to his lips. "I guess that makes us even."

Nursey lets out a deep breath and pulls him in for another hug. This one, thankfully, doesn't involve tears, and for the first time since getting that phone call, Dex feels like he can breathe.

**Author's Note:**

> • In case you were confused by Dex' sisters (who I made up), they are: Katherine AKA Katie, 19 - she goes to college in a nearby town and usually home every third weekend or so; Molly, 14 - currently hates everything, most of all puberty and boys; Bonnie, 11 - she really loves reptiles and constantly 'rescues' lizards and snakes and tries to keep them in her room; Elizabeth AKA Betty, 8 - wants to be a marine biologist or a ballerina or a puppy trainer; and Margaret AKA Maggie, 5 - thinks her big brother Will is the BEST.  
> • There is no real resolution of any of Dex' problems here (apart from him finally having that DTR talk with Nursey), but that's how life works, I guess. [In my mind, his mom makes it work until after Dex graduates and when he signs with a team to play pro hockey, he lives in a crappy apartment and sends the majority of his paycheck home to his family/puts it aside for his little sisters' education. Nursey lets it slide for about four months until he uses his trust fund to buy a really nice apartment closer to the rink and makes Dex move in with him. "Fine, whatever, pay rent if you want, Poindexter, but the rent on this place is the same as your shithole of a tetanus-hazard apartment. Deal with it." (Nursey uses 70% of the rent money Dex insists on paying him to buy nice things for Dex.)]  
> • Thank you for reading!


End file.
